Remote control of an electronic appliance by a user is often accomplished using a handheld device with a number of buttons, e.g., a TV remote control. As the user presses a button, an associated wireless signal is emitted to remotely control the appliance, perhaps changing channels, or volume level. But such mechanisms are quantized in the sense that their remote control output command sets are rather limited by the number of discrete remote control buttons.
Some remote control devices include a touch screen that the user contacts to control a remote device. But such remote control device can only detect user interactions that contact the touch screen, and cannot detect user gestures made in three-dimensional space away from the touch screen surface. Some touch screen devices employ electromagnetic and/or capacitive technologies that try to sense presence of an object close to the touch screen. This proximity requirement tends to restrict sensing natural ad hoc gestures made in three-dimensional space.
What is needed is a method and portable or handheld remote control device to sense user interaction, including natural interface gesture interaction, in a three-dimensional zone to remotely control at least one appliance. Typically the depth of this zone will be less than the arm length (≦1 m) of the user, which is a comfortable range distance for the device. The remote control device is preferably implemented with low power consumption generic inexpensive components that have small form factor. The remote control device should process data to reduce imaging ambiguities and substantially expedite processing of a sparse number of three-dimensional data points needed to identify user gestures, including natural user interactions with the device. Transmitted commands from the remote control device system should meet applicable industry standards of accuracy and resolution.
The present invention provides such systems and methods for implementing such systems.